After my shower, I spend a few eons agonizing over what to wear—because what outfit says I’m into you, but I might die soon, so let’s not play games?—and then a few more trying to make my hair look cool. Eventually I give up on that dream and try to settle for “messy, but maybe it’s intentional,” and then … I’m out of time.

I graciously allow my parents exactly two minutes to speak with Gunnar when he arrives, and then I’m pushing him out the door again, promising to honor my dad’s routine exhortations to be careful. Regardless of the statistics, Fulton Heights is still a vampire town, and I still have a crucifix in my pocket. The night air is crisp but wet, following our third straight day of rain, and all the snow is gone. Around us, I feel the undead watching, shifting restlessly when they realize I’m not alone.

“It’s good to see you,” Gunnar says, pushing a hand through the tousled waves of his hair. It’s shiny, and I have a feeling it would be soft to the touch if I were in the right position to pull on it. The thought does funny things to my insides, and in spite of myself I’m suddenly horny again. He reaches over and tugs the lapel of my jacket. “You look really cute tonight, by the way.”

“Thanks. So do you.” I might start floating. I’ve never been able to say that out loud before, and the words taste almost guilty on my tongue, my head buzzing with satisfaction. This is what being on a date feels like. “I see you wore your best dude-necklace.”

It’s a silly thing to say, but I can’t keep my thoughts contained, all of them running together. Gunnar just looks down in surprise at the pendant resting against his T-shirt, a fragment of stone on a leather strap, and laughs. “My dude-necklace—I like that.” He smiles at me sideways. “I found this on a beach in Iceland—it’s my good-luck charm.”

“Does it work?” I ask as he opens the passenger door of his car for me.

“I guess we’ll find out,” he murmurs, his breath soft against my ear, and by the time he shuts the door and circles around to the driver’s side, I’m buzzing everywhere.

Gunnar’s mouth is amazing. And I mean this purely from an aesthetic standpoint, because no kissing has happened (yet). But I’m thinking about it a lot while he talks. It turns out he has three different kinds of smiles: the mild one, where the corners turn up; the intermediate one, where his teeth show and a tiny parenthesis appears in each cheek; and then his advanced smile, when he really laughs, and his eyes crinkle and his whole face becomes animated. That one’s my favorite.